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The Patriot Act vs. Civil Rights The Patriot Act clearly violates the constitutional rights of those living directly under it. There are many reports of United States citizen’s civil rights being violated. Phone conversations being listened in on when no terrorist conversations were taking place. Private medical records being looked at, personal computers being tapped into and web site visits being checked and arrests taking place with no solid proof that any crime took place.
The accused weren’t even granted the opportunity to be allowed legal representation to defend them. And in America we as citizens are supposed to be protected by the United States Constitution which contains a Bill of Rights section that is supposed to protect citizen’s rights and freedoms who live under it. Because of the Patriot Act being passed into law the civil liberties of United States citizens were being violated based on stereotypical opinions and ideas of fellow citizens who share the same homeland as them.
President Bush stated in his National Security Strategy that terrorism will be defeated by “Using every tool in our arsenal including law enforcement. “He went further in his National Strategy for Homeland Security, where he stated that we have historically “used our laws to promote and safeguard our security and our liberty. The law will both provide People of Muslim or Arab descent aren’t the only ones getting falsely arrested under the Patriot Act.
A caucasian woman named Tamera Freeman was arrested for spanking her child on a commercial airline, and people have been arrested for raising their voices on airlines also. In Baltimore a group of animal activists were arrested for filming the police officers overseeing their demonstration. And an 8th grade student was brought in for questioning when he decided to write a paper about the Golden Gate Bridge and was discovered to be checking out research material about the bridge at his local library.
None of these cases resulted in any kind of terroristic behaviors, yet their constitutional rights had been violated. With all of these negative findings involved in the Patriot Act why do some people approve of this bill? Could it be that they want to believe in this great nation and our government and in the President. They are somehow convinced that this country that we live in has our best interests in hand and sincerely wants to protect us from outside terroristic forces.
Some citizens are willing to sacrifice their privacy to be assured that they are living in a safe country. The media sometimes only shows us what it wants us to see and some people draw preconceived notions from what they see on television. But the images that appear in front of us aren’t always accurate. home, the right to free speech, the right to assemble freely, the right to petition the government for redress, and the right to due process of the law are the heart and soul of what makes America what it is–the greatest country in the world.
As one of the greatest statesmen of all time, Benjamin Franklin, warned, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little BIBLIOGRAPHY: www. archives. gov The United States Constitution www. epic. org “USA Patriot Act Page” 10/24/2001 www. nolan chart. com The Patriot Act www. ushistory. org “The Electric Ben Franklin” copyright 1999 www. youtube. com Documentary Unconstitutional: The War on Civil Liberties 6/12/2007 David Cole and Jules Lobel- Are We Safe? Los Angeles Times: Opinion 11/18/2007